WhatsApp working on fingerprint authentication for chats: Report. Pixabay

Aiming to take on encrypted messaging platform Telegram, WhatsApp has released a new feature for its groups which is essentially a “one-way broadcast” communication stream.

“Today, we’re launching a new group setting where only admins are able to send messages to a group. One way people use groups is to receive important announcements and information, including parents and teachers at schools, community centres, and non-profit organisations,” the Facebook-owned company wrote in a blog post late on Friday.

To enable this new feature, users have to open “Group Info,” and select “Only Admins”.

Representational image. Pixabay

The company is rolling out the feature to all users around the world, who are on the latest supported versions of the app.

Another new feature that is being rolled out is group description which is essentially a short blurb found under group information that allows users to set the purpose, guidelines or topics for the group.

WhatsApp working on fingerprint authentication for chats: Report. Pixabay

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is reportedly working on a fingerprint authentication feature to protect its users’ chats from being seen by others.

According to WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features early, the feature is current under development in Beta for Android 2.19.3 version.

“After working to implement Face ID and Touch ID features on iOS (that aren’t available yet for development reasons), WhatsApp has finally started to work on the Authentication feature on Android, using your Fingerprint!” said the report on Tuesday.

WhatsApp on a smartphone device.

The fingerprint authentication feature will be available within the app under a new section.

Once you enable the fingerprint feature, your WhatsApp will be completely protected from others to be seen.

“The user will need to authenticate his identity in order to open WhatsApp (from the app icon, from the notification or from external pickers). It will protect the entire app, so it’s not used to lock specific conversations,” the report added.

This feature would be available in future for any Android user (and later for iOS users too) having Android Marshmallow and newer operating systems and a fingerprint sensor. (IANS)